Tainted Love
by Ethros
Summary: Lilliandrei, an aspiring Thief, is duped into killing two innocents, and, while traveling to make amends, falls in love with an acolyte. Warning: Onesided homosexuality, nonexplicit rape, and murder.Companion story to Lieandra Avonova's SPEED OF SOUND.
1. Chapter 1

Morroc is a peaceful town. Not a very pretty one or wealthy one, most of the residents are impoverished, dirty, and short-lived, but the town is peaceful. I've been all over the world in my time, and I still can't think of anyplace I love more than Morroc. I can think of people, but no places. I jump ahead of myself, though.

If I sound a little cold in this writing, I apologize. I wasn't always so, but I've been tricked and stepped on so many times that it's hard to keep the cheerful demeanor I used to have. One can only stand so many lies, and so much betrayal. I've been hurt, and hurt others worse, and I can't say but that everything has weight heavily on my heart.

My name is Lilliandrei, Stalker, Thief, and enemy to the organized governments of the world. Here is my tale.

"Hey, Lil, how's the catch today?" A strawberry blonde said as she hooked her arm around my neck and rubbed her fist in my violet hair. I was seventeen, and already a bit of a scoundrel in Morroc. Since I never had any family I made my way in the world snatching an apple or two off the street vendors' carts, and then running as fast as I could into the desert to keep from getting my hand sliced off.

"Pretty good, Miyaka. I have five apples, two chunks of meat, and a new knife, see?" I said, having yanked myself from her chokehold. I pulled each item out of my sack as I mentioned it, and then tossed Miyaka an apple. She grinned and bit down. Miyaka had been my best friend forever, and we always did things together. On occasion some of the older women in the town would think we were lovers, but neither of us had really given it any thought. We were friends, great comrades, and not really interested. Miyaka chewed her bite, swallowed, and grinned.

"This is great, Lil. Is this from ol' man Raoul's stash?"

"Nope, after what that geezer did to me last time I tried, I figure it's best to let him be. This is from some new guys in town. One of them's a mage. He has these cool purple robes, but he insists on wearing this stupid hat."

"Idiot! What if he comes after you? He could burn us to a crisp, or make us icicles. I've heard what those mages can do!"

"I don't think he will. His friend saw me, and shook his head. I think they figure we need the food, and they'll let it slide."

"Well, alright." Miyaka looked worried, despite my assurances. However, she knew better than to push things, and I was glad not to have them pushed. I was feeling really good about myself, and I was excited. It's not often that there are visitors in Morroc, and these two were just so cool. I hadn't caught the mage's name, but he called his companion Korva. It was a cool name, and I filed it away in the back of my mind, just in case I ever needed a cool name. Miyaka changed the subject.

"Are you thinking of joining the thieves' guild?" She asked, having finished her apple and stolen some of my meat. I hadn't given it much thought, but, being the impulsive child I was, decided to have a go.

"Hell yeah! I'm going to join up and become the best thief there ever was. People worldwide will go, 'have you heard of that Lilliandrei, violet stalker of the Morroc night?' and they'll reply, 'oh, I hope he never comes here.'" I stood up, and began pantomiming my future praises, waving my hands about and striking cool-man poses. Miyaka rolled on the ground laughing. I couldn't keep my composure, and fell into the desert sands next to her, giggling like a schoolgirl.

"Well, people worldwide will certainly hear you laughing if you keep that up." A soft voice said. I glanced up to see the mage and his swordsman companion standing over us, grinning. I flipped out my knife and got ready to run, and saw Miyaka do the same. _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit._ I repeated in my head. _We're done for this time._ The mage walked over to my pack, and took the knife.

"You can keep the rest of the stuff, but my magic isn't limitless, so I'll have to be keeping my knife." He whispered, and then he turned and grinned at me. To be honest I had pissed my pants from fear already, since earlier I had seen him call fire from the sky. He slid the knife into his waistband, underneath his cloak, and tipped his hat to us. Korva, his swordsman friend waved his sword in our direction.

"Stealing is bad." He said, and then he laughed. Korva sheathed his sword, and cocked his head towards the town. "Let's go, Ethros. These two aren't worth our time." The two of them left us there in the middle of the desert, and I collapsed in relief. Looking back, I probably don't remember what they said exactly, since the tales I had heard about those two from later companions don't quite mesh with my memories, but I was a scared youth, and I digress.

The sun was setting, and Miyaka and I decided that it might not be the best idea to go back to town quite yet, so we set up a campfire, and curled up next to it. She noticed the stain on my pants and made fun of me for it, so when I took them off to dry them over the fire I couldn't resist whipping her with them. This, of course, lead to a bit of a wrestling match, which I lost. We laughed, I set my pants up to dry, and then we lay down by the fire to sleep through the night. Neither of us knew that we had been watched by a pair of Assassins, nor did we know that, about halfway through the night, we'd be woken from sweet dreams of riches and manors when a storm came over the desert and dumped an ocean on our heads.

I woke up swearing. The fire was out, my pants were hanging wetter than they were before, and now my shit and undergarments were getting soaked. Miyaka was hiding under her sleeping roll, clothing wet and hair in her eyes.

"This sucks, Lil. I'm f-freezing." She said, shivering from the wet. I was inclined to agree with her, but I felt like being the pillar of strength in the freezing rain.

"We n-need to get t-to town, Miy-yaka-a. B-b-before we freeze to death." I said, and she nodded in agreement. We grabbed our packs, and left our camp sitting out in the open while we ran through the pelting rain towards Morroc. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder rolled, and to be honest I was terrified. In the darkness I missed seeing a ridge, and tripped over it and went rolling. Fortunately, with the exception of a few cuts and scrapes, I didn't receive any injuries. Miyaka slid down after me, and we took off running. Lightning struck the ridge we had just slid down, not more than a minute after we had gotten moving, and my nerves were frayed and shaking. My wet hair matted in my left eye, annoying the hell out of me, but I could see the gate ahead, and redoubled my sprint. Miyaka followed close behind, and we both barreled through the gate before the guards had time to say anything. Just then, the rain stopped, and the wind started. I stopped right where I was and turned around to see a wall of sand coming at the city. The guards screamed and turned tail to flee, and I couldn't help but agree that was a good idea. We ran as fast as our legs could take us down the main street, tripping occasionally over an angled cobblestone. Several citizens looked out of their houses to see what the ruckus was, and almost immediately joined us on our flight.

Our destination was the central temple, the only building in town which could withstand a direct hit from a sandstorm. Miyaka and I threw the doors open and barreled inside at the head of the mob, flung ourselves behind a statue to one of the old gods, and I covered my head with my hands. Miyaka buried her head into my chest, and we held onto each other for dear life while the guards shoved the doors shut and bolted them. Almost immediately afterwards, the doors were slammed from the outside, and the deafening winds of the storm began to come through the side windows of the temple, spraying us with sand. It was miserable.

We sat there for a good hour until the winds died down, and then sighed with relief. Our clothes, already soaked from the rain, had sand clinging to them all over, and were definitely ruined. Though our hair was matted with sand, our clothes ruined, and our bodies aching from all sorts of cuts and abrasions, we joined in the joyous cheers of the crowd. We had survived, and I looked at the ancient statue above me. I didn't know what god it was, but I thanked it for saving us, and stood up. Miyaka and I pushed our way through the crowd, and out of the temple.

"Ow." I said, and that one syllable summarizes how Morroc looked at that moment. Many tents and hovels had been knocked over, and the merchants' stands were pulverized. The sun was rising at the time, and the whole scene looked surreal. I saw some people who hadn't been as fortunate as we were laying in the streets. Miyaka grabbed my arm, and started sobbing.

"This is horrible, Lil. It's just horrible." She whimpered. I gave her a comforting hug, and saw Ethros and Korva come running around the side of the temple, apparently from the Inn. They stopped and talked back and forth very rapidly, but I couldn't catch what they were saying. They turned and walked away, and I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"It's not a pretty picture, is it?"

I turned around to see a pair of men, each one wearing a pair of denim shorts with their muscular upper bodies wrapped in bandages. Both were hiding their faces behind bandannas, one wearing a red one and the other a blue. I was already quite shaken from the night's events, and moved my hand to the knife at my side, while I gave them a twice over. Red had a long white braid, and Blue had short-cropped rust hair. Both of them had Katar, and stood with very smug looks on their faces.

"It's a horrible picture, those two villains just coming out to survey the damages, then running back to the Inn, probably to drink and congratulate each other." Red said. He rolled his eyes, and glanced at me.

"Who are you?" I demanded. I was sick of new people by this point, and just wanted to go find a river somewhere private so I could strip naked and take a much needed bath.

"Oh, we overheard you in the desert, talking about how you want to join the thieves' guild. We're representatives. You can call us by our codenames. I'm Red." Red said, pointing to his bandanna, "and this is Blue."

"What do you want?" I shrieked. Miyaka stood behind me, her left hand on my shoulder and, judging from her weight, probably holding one hand on her knife. Blue smiled, and shrugged his arms.

"We aren't going to hurt you." Blue assured, "We want to give you a chance to join our fine institution. You see, those two men you met earlier, the ones who are at the Inn. They're criminals. Horrible, horrible villains wanted the world over."

"It's true, what Blue said." Red spat, and pointed accusingly at me. "Do you think that sandstorm was a fluke, an act of nature? No, that evil mage summoned it. He's probably patting himself on the back right now for all the chaos he caused. He and his swordsman buddy travel from town to town, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake, and now they've struck us, here, in Morroc."

I was terrified, not of Red and Blue, but of Ethros and Korva. What if they came after us later, cut us down where we stood? I dropped my knife in shock, and stuttered, unable to make a sound. Fortunately, Miyaka had managed to gather her wits.

"What do you want from us?" She asked. I could tell from how tight her grip was on my shoulder that she was as scared as I was, if not more so. I put my free hand on hers, and felt it relax a little.

"We need to you make friends with them. Get on their good sides; make them love you. Then, when you have their trust, take them west of town and kill them. We'll be nearby to help you if you get in trouble." Red put his hand on my shoulder; the one Miyaka wasn't using, and smiled. "Take care of them for us, and you'll be given positions of honor in the guild. How does that sound?"

For an instant, my fear was washed away, replaced by images of riches, of power. I pictured Miyaka and myself wearing trinkets of gold, organizing young orphans like us and teaching them how to make their way in the world. Before I knew it, I'd already said, "We'll do it."

"Great!" Blue exclaimed, and the two of them began to walk away. "Take all the time you need, we'll be keeping an eye on you."

With that, they disappeared into the crowd, and Miyaka and I turned our attention to one another. Miyaka had a disapproving look in her eyes.

"Hey, you're the one who mentioned the guild. Besides, I can't stand the thought of villains like that walking free." I said, defending my thoughtless agreement.

"I guess you're right. Well, before we do that, I think it might be a good idea to get ourselves cleaned up." She said. I agreed, and we headed south of town, where we knew there was a goodly sized lake hidden in a nice alcove, where we could bathe in peace.


	2. Chapter 2

It took a while to build up the courage to speak with Ethros and Korva, and to be honest Miyaka and I never managed to approach them. We were fortunate and, about three days after the horrible sandstorm, they approached us.

Miyaka and I were with Old Man Raoul at his shack in northern Morroc. He was a hat maker who had taken me in and acted, in some manner, as a father during my childhood. That's not to imply that we were always happy with him. Occasionally Miyaka and I would steal an apple or two from his cart, and he would chase us through the town, waving his walking stick and threatening to chop our hands off if he caught us. Then, we'd have lunch with him the next day. He never did chop our hands off, although I suppose if it had been anyone else he would have.

Lunch was a fine assortment of fruits, meats, and vegetables. We had one of each, which is more than most Morrocs could boast. Old Man Raoul smiled, his cheeks bulging out farther than his tiny little red nose while we ate. Miyaka and I had managed to get most of the sand out of our clothes, but they were still itchy, torn, and little more than rags. Old Man Raoul chuckled.

"If you two keep wandering around in outfits like that. You're bound to catch cold!" He said, refilling Miyaka's glass of orange juice. She gulped the new glass down in an instant, and he refilled it again. "Let's not drink too quickly, you'll get sick. Now, about your clothes." Raoul walked over to his wardrobe, and began digging in his pockets for the key.

"Don't worry about it, Ol' Man," I said, "We've taken a job from the thieves' guild. We just have to lure two criminals into the desert, and they'll make us members."

"Is that so? That sounds awfully nice of them." Old Man Raoul looked a little distraught, but the look was soon gone, and he smiled again. "Well, I think you two have had enough. Going to eat me out of house and home."

We helped Old Man Raoul straighten his shack, and then he gave each of us a Zeny. I pocketed mine, and I assume Miyaka pocketed hers too, but I didn't see what she did with it to be certain. Raoul put on his sombrero, and escorted us outside. As luck would have it, Ethros and Korva were right outside the hut. They were talking, and didn't notice us coming out.

"So, Korva, is my hat still stupid?" Ethros said laughingly. Korva was badly sunburned, and didn't seem very happy with Ethros.

"Yes, it is incredibly stupid." Korva snapped, "But, in your hat's defense, it's not nearly as stupid as its wearer."

The two looked to be on the verge of a brawl when Raoul drew their attention with a loud cough.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'd rather you didn't fight outside my shop. Now, if you would like, I could make you a sombrero if you would bring me the required components."

Korva and Ethros whirled to face Old Man Raoul, and Korva bowed.

"I would be very appreciative, sir," Korva said, "if you would do that for me. What do you need?"

"Now, now, there's no need to call me 'sir'," Raoul said, "My name is Raoul, and I'm a hatmaker."

"Greetings, Raoul, I'm Korva, and this is my comrade, Ethros." Ethros tipped his hat to Raoul, and chuckled.

"We have a friend back in Prontera named Raoul." Ethros said. "He's an aspiring acolyte, and a great friend. If you would tell us what you need for two, I'd like to take one home to him as a gift. It's a good idea, isn't it, Korva?"

Korva nodded and said, "Yes, it's a wonderful idea. What do we need?"

"Bring me 100 cactus needles, two guitars, and two straw hats, and I'll give you a pair of sombreros!" Raoul shouted, banging his fists together. During this entire time, my knees were shaking since I knew that these two were horrible murderers. I was afraid that they would kill us all after they heard how horrible the price for the hats was. 100 cactus needles, that's a lot of Mukas that need killing. Miyaka taped me on the shoulder, and whispered in my ear.

"We have all that stuff, remember?"

It suddenly dawned on me how I could save our lives, and get in the killers' favor. I took out my pack, gathered up the cactus needles I'd been collecting, yanked them out, and waved them in the air.

"Sirs, sirs," I shouted, "I have the materials right here. 100 cactus needles in my bag, and then Miyaka and I both have a straw hat and a guitar." Ethros walked over to me and smiled.

"Wonderful," he said, "It's very generous of you to offer to give us those things for free, but we can't accept it without giving you some payment in return." He started digging around in his pocket, and I had an impulse, something which I figured would work wonders.

"No, don't give us any money." I said. "Miyaka and I are awed by you two. I would really love to learn how to use a sword like Mr. Korva, and Miyaka said that she thought your magic was really cool."

Miyaka, like the smart girl she was, jumped right on the cue.

"Yes," she said, "I would love to learn magic from you, Mr. Ethros. If you two teach us, we'll count that as payment." She stuck out her hand towards Ethros, who looked at it curiously. I held my breath while I waited to see if he would turn us into mice or play into our hands. He reached his hand out, and took Miyaka's.

"That's an excellent deal." He said, "but it's not Mr. Ethros, or Mr. Korva. My full name is Ethros Kepler, and this is Korva Germaine." He took the items from us, and gave them to Old Man Raoul. Raoul went into his shop, and left us alone out front. I was so relieved that things had worked out this well.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Kepler, for accepting the bargain." I said with a bow, "and I look forward to your teachings, Mr. Germaine."

"I look forward to teaching you," Korva said, "What's your name?"

"I'm Lilliandrei, sir." I said. He twisted his face in thought.

"Ow, this is a hard one. Hmmmm…." He said, strumming his fingers against his head. "I know! All bow and no play makes for an annoying Lilliandrei!" He grinned and pointed at me. "So, quit the bowing and scraping, and let's spar, right now."

"But, I only have this knife." I said, showing my tiny little knife. Korva laughed, said that was fine, and unsheathed his sword. He took a lunge at me, and I did what instinct demanded: I dropped to the ground. His sword went over my head. I whipped out my knife, and drove it upwards towards his groin. I knew from experience that one strike to the balls would end the fight for good. He swung his sword around, and knocked my knife away.

"Not quite honorable." He said, accusingly. "A swordsman must be honorable." He took his sword, and swung it at me again. I blocked it with my knife, and was knocked backwards. I stood up, and found the tip of a sword against my throat.

"Not too bad, but we really need to work on your skills." He said. The steel was hot from the desert sun, and it was very uncomfortable. I flinched from the heat, and he pulled the sword away.

"Fist things first," he said, "You need to work on stance. Your legs are too close together. Spread them out, and angle your foot slightly. Good. Now, try blocking this next one."

Korva arched his sword over his shoulder and drove it towards my face. I swung my knife up to block it, and felt the force of the hit going down my arm. Afraid that my arm might break, I let the force push me backwards, and kicked my leg up, hitting his hilt. I flicked the knife around again, and went for his face. He spun his sword and swatted my knife with the flat of the blade, slid in towards my chest, and stopped with it poking me.

"Good!" He said, and he grinned. Ethros and Miyaka applauded. Ethros guided Miyaka away around the house, and Korva faced me again. After a few more pointers it was time to begin again. This time, when he swung his sword, I hit the side of it with my knife, pushing it away. He seemed very pleased, and doubled his efforts, always keeping himself one step ahead of me. I realized that he was indeed a master swordsman, and though I grew tired of his constant talk of "honor" I remembered the words of Red and Blue. So, I kept on sparring, taking what I liked and dropping what I didn't, long into the night.

Eventually I passed out from exhaustion, and I woke up in a room at the Inn. I was shirtless, and Miyaka was sitting on the chair beside me, patting my head with a cold cloth. Every muscle in my body felt as though it was being eaten by a horde of Andres, and even wiggling a finger sent new surges of pain swelling through me.

"Lil, you're awake!" Miyaka said. "Korva was terrified when you passed out. He carried you all the way back here, and left me to care for you."

"That. Tch… great." I gasped from the pain of speaking. I could tell that I'd pulled a few muscles yesterday, and assumed that I had hit my head when I passed out, since there was a huge knot there which banged the bed when I gasped, hurting me even more.

"Eek, don't talk." Miyaka said, as she quickly wrapped some ice in a bandage and put it on my knot. "I hope we can get you better and those two out to the desert soon. I can't stand this job. Ethros goes on and on about the fundamental make-up of the world and it's so boring. I mean, he doesn't think I'll be able to make my first fire bolt for at least a month! A MONTH! I don't think I could survive a whole month of meditations and study. Did you know he has eighteen books under that cloak? It's scary.""

"I bet" I said, gritting my teeth against the pain. I was going to say more, but then Ethros and Korva came in. Korva patted me on the shoulder. He might as well have shoved a sword through it, for how much it hurt.

"Sorry about pushing you too hard, man. I think you should rest a bit. You picked up really quickly." He said, wagging his finger in my face. I grinned, despite my pain, and bit at it, and everyone laughed. "You know what? I think that next we should work on using the environment. How about we go out to the desert when you're better?"

I opened my mouth, but instead started coughing, each cough aching in my chest. When the spasm ended, I grinned and said, "sure." He was playing into my hands, once I got out of bed we could go to the desert, and then Red and Blue would take over, and I'd be a certified thief. From there, my choices were endless. Korva grinned, and offered me a high-five, which I declined.

"Ethros, what's your prognosis?" Korva asked. Ethros looked over me, and frowned.

"He's defiantly bed-ridden for the rest of this week. He's pulled a hamstring, broken a rib, and that knot on his head doesn't look good. He may have a concussion. Unless we can find a priest, he's going to be stuck there for a bit. Korva, how about you look over him for a bit, I'll take Miyaka and we'll use this time to try to catch her up to him." Ethros smiled, and Miyaka smiled back. I knew her smile was fake; she hated study. Ethros took her out of the room, and left Korva with me. We joked a while longer, and he told me about his home, and his adopted son, Raoul. Eventually I went back to sleep, and dreamed wonderful dreams about gems and money and, for a reason I wasn't willing to accept yet, a dancing naked Korva.


End file.
